Have you had one of those days, weeks, months, years where no matter what you do, nothing seems to go right. Some people consider they are cursedor are considered to be pessimistic. What if there was a “law” to explain such a state?
Yep, this is what we call Murphy’s Law.Basically, Murphy’s Law means that if something can go wrong, it will. What a slogan for a pessimist! The origins of Murphy’s law are stories came from Edwards Airforce Base in 1949. An Airforce Engineer by the name of Capt.
Edward A. Murphyand worked on a project designed to so how much sudden acceleration a person can stand in a crash. One of his technicians had wired a electrical part wrong, and he became upset with the technician and said: “If there is any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it.
Meaning:
This is a phrase or saying we use to states: “that if something can go wrong it will.” Later am addition to this initial statement and in modern times we say: If something can go wrong, it will and usually at the worst possible time.
Example of “Murphy’s Law”:
- Not only did my car break down, but it started to rain and I couldn’t get the top up. There I was on the way to my wedding with my best man, sitting in my car on the side of the highway, in our tux’s soaked. Like Murphy’s Lawsays, if something could go wrong it will and at the worst possible time!
- Jill is such a pessimist, she believes in Murphy’s law, always saying that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and at the worst possible time. I always tell her it is all up in her head and she should look at the bright side of life.
Dialog:
Betty: Hi Archie, what’s up? How have you been?
Archie: I’m ok. Just having a bad day.
Betty: Oh, why a bad day?
Archie: Actually it is more like a bad week!
Betty: Why a bad week?
Archie: Well my car broke down. So, I had to take the bus to work on Monday. On Tuesday, I was crossing the street and a car ran over my foot. Then there was Wednesday, when I was late for work again and my boss fired me. Thursday, I got the bill for my car and it was 3 times what I expected.
Betty: Wow! Talk about Murphy’s law!
Archie: No kidding! If anything could go wrong this week it did and at the worst possible time! Thanks God it’s Friday!
Other words you can create: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc. (ex: mug – mugger)
Pessimistic
Gloomy
Negative
Cynical
Melancholy
Downhearted
Defeatist
Skeptic
Collocations:
It never fails, if something is going to go wrong it will, Murphy’s Law!
Sounds like Murphy’s Law is working overtime!
Just remember you can’t blame Murphy’s law for everything.
Related phrasal verbs:
Hard up
In the context of Murphy’s Law, you are lacking in luck.
- Man, I’ve been hard up this week, Murphy’s law!
Distrustful as to
We use this to express the idea of someone being skeptical of someone or something.
- I just can’t catch a break; my week has been one big Murphy’s law. I am distrustful as to anything going right this week.
Give up
We use this phrasal verb in the context of Murphy’s law to suggest that someone has lost hope in anything going right.
- Sometimes I just want to give up, it seems everything I do or accomplish is one big Murphy’s Law.
Resign yourself to
We use this to describe a situation where you accept defeat and hope.
- I have resigned myself to accept that in most cases when I want to work with them, everything and anything will go wrong and at the worst possible time, in other words Murphy’s Law.
Beat-down
When we use this phrasal verb in the context of Murphy’s Law, it means to express utter defeat and downheartedness.
- I feel so beat-down. Murphy’s Law is my life, if anything could have gone wrong today, it did and at the wort possible time.
Related idioms:
No such luck
This idiom is used to express hopelessness that something has not happened or probably won’t happen.
The luck of the draw
When we sue the phrase luck of the draw a person is saying that things and events happen because one person is lucky or unlucky.
As luck would have it
This is used to suggest that something has happened as the result of chance and luck, usually in a negative context.
Have a run of bad luck
We use this to describe a situation where a person experiences several experiences of bad luck and failure.
Bread will always fall jelly side down
This is a phrase use to describe pessimistic beliefs about life events.
When it rains’ it pours
Someone might use this to describe a series of misfortunes of difficult situations that come one right after another.
Synonyms (other ways to say):
Mod’s Law
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